To uphold judicial order and authority and protect the lawful rights and interests of citizens, legal persons, and other organizations, in accordance with the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of False Litigation, this notice outlines the risks and consequences of false litigation as follows:
I. Litigation initiated by parties must reflect their genuine intent. Signatures and seals on litigation documents such as complaints, applications, and powers of attorney must be authentic. Parties shall not collude maliciously, evade the law, harm national or public interests, infringe on third-party rights, or conceal illegal purposes under the guise of legal forms. Those who cause harm through false litigation shall bear civil liability and other legal responsibilities.
II. Filing civil lawsuits based on fabricated facts, thereby obstructing judicial order or seriously infringing on others' lawful rights, constitutes the crime of false litigation. Penalties include: Imprisonment of up to three years, criminal detention, public surveillance or fines; For serious circumstances: imprisonment of three to seven years and fines.
If a legal entity commits this crime, the entity shall be fined, and its directly responsible personnel shall be punished as above.
III. Evidence submitted to the People's Court must be truthful. Parties shall not forge, alter, conceal evidence, or induce, bribe, or coerce others to provide false testimony. The following acts constitute false litigation if they involve fabricated legal relationships or disputes:
1. Colluding with a spouse to fabricate joint marital debts;
2. Colluding with others to fabricate debt-credit relationships or asset-for-debt agreements;
3. Colluding with the legal representative, directors, supervisors, managers or other senior officers of a corporate with malicious intent to fabricate corporate debts or guarantee obligations;
4. Fabricating intellectual property infringement or unfair competition claims;
5. Submitting fabricated creditor claims in bankruptcy proceedings;
6. Colluding with judgment debtors to fabricate debts or claims of priority rights over seized, detained, or frozen assets;
7. Other acts of unilateral or malicious collusion with others to fabricate identity, contract, tort, inheritance and other civil legal relationships.
IV. Concealing the fact that a debt has been fully repaid and filing a lawsuit to enforce repayment shall be deemed as false litigation.
V. Applying for enforcement of arbitral awards or notarized creditor documents based on fabricated facts, or raising objections or claims during civil enforcement proceedings using fabricated facts, constitutes false litigation.
VI. Litigation agents, witnesses, experts, or other participants who collude to initiate false litigation, provide false testimony, or issue fraudulent expert opinions shall be jointly liable for crimes of obstructing judicial proceedings. If such acts also constitute crimes of obstructing testimony or aiding in evidence destruction or falsification, the heavier penalty shall be applied.
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